Magic moments for Staggie fans
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THEY CAME by the thousand to witness history in the making.
If anyone was looking for an excuse for a party, Ross County’s promotion to the SPL on the back of an astonishing 33-game unbeaten league run seemed like a pretty good one.
For some teary-eyed veterans of campaigns gone by, it was the fairytale ending to an 18-year quest few dared to even dream of.
For others, it was the merely the prelude to a brand new chapter, one which will force the big boys of Scottish football – Celtic, Rangers and all the rest – to make their way up the A9 to the little town of Dingwall next season. One which will see two Highland clubs separated by less than 15 miles battle it out in the top flight in the most feverishly anticipated season in living memory.
Some travelled hundreds of miles to be there. Others merely needed to step outside their front doors. All were united by a collective sense of pride in a truly magnificent achievement.
Before a ball was kicked in County’s final home game of the season, the club’s title-winning heroes had clearly been electrified by the response of the sell-out crowd – and of the terrific support which they acknowledge has played such a big part in their success. In excess of 4,700 squeezed into Victoria Park to watch them kick-start the party of the year with a 5-1 humbling of Hamilton – the very same scoreline, incredibly, by which they were last beaten, by the same club, back in August 2011.
Ghosts laid to rest, their margin at the top extended to an astonishing 24 points, all that remained was to get the party started...
Pick up this week's Ross-shire Journal for a page of pictures and the latest from camp County.
Will Ross County still be in the SPL at the end of next season? Have your say in the Ross-shire Journal's online Big Vote here
